Final Fantasy 8: The Heart of the Lunar Cry
by saviour-sephiroth
Summary: This story is a continuation of Final Fantasy VIII. It takes place directly at the end of the original. The story follows Squall and his eternall struggle as the innevitable hero.
1. Chapter 1: Something on my mind

Final Fantasy 8: The Heart of the Lunar Cry  
  
SAVIOURSEPHIROTH: Okay, I'd just like to say before people start to complain, this fan fic changes a few things to do with the ending of Final Fantasy 8, for one thing Quistis has left to go to Esthar city, also the moon is still glowing red in this story. There are other smaller details such as the fact that in the original ending Zell is stuffing his face at the table and then Irvine and the others spot Squall and Rinoa on the balcony instead in this story Zell is still stuffing his face but he is being chased by Angelo. R&R plz!!!  
  
Chapter 1: Something on my mind.  
  
"Squall...?"  
  
He turned his head with a gentle gaze that met Rinoa's eyes with a glimmer of hope and excitement. So many questions left unanswered, so many lives lost in the war and so much change had happened that hope and excitement for the future was the fuel of the moment. Although Ultemicia had been defeated Rinoa knew that something still plagued Squall's mind.  
  
Trying to take his mind off the past she gently smiled at him, as did he. The light from the ballroom flowed onto the balcony and made the breeze seem warm and inviting, the night sky was clear and the sea air free of fog. She pointed to a star that fell in the sky and at that moment he held her and they kissed. He brought his arm to her side and pulled her gently towards him, she returned the embrace. Her hold was gentle and his was firm, the moment became intense and close. All the thoughts that were flowing through Squalls mind faded into background noise and broke apart till all that was left was Rinoa. Raising her arm to his shoulder she pressed her head against his chest. "Rinoa" softly mouthing her name he became lost in her but the moment was interrupted by a crash from inside the ballroom. Angelo had decided to chase Zell around for a while who was sporting the usual attire and also a large sandwich from the buffet. Zell fell onto Irvine who was flung onto a table surrounded with people, chairs, food and drinks. Casual as ever Irvine stood up dusted down his clothes and walked away with a slight nervous smile that graced the corner of his cheeks. Zell bounded to his feet and rushed out of the ballroom and onto the balcony to have a go at Rinoa for letting Angelo loose but his rampage was cut short and he stood frozen in the archway like one of Shiva's ice sculptures realizing that he had interrupted a very private moment between Rinoa and Squall.  
  
"Umm..." Zell quickly became nervous and agitated with both Squall and Rinoa's eyes glaring at him in mild shock. Scratching the back of his head he repeated "Umm..."  
  
"Yes Zell, what is it?" Rinoa put on her confident leadership voice to force Zell to back away, she kept her arm tightly on Squall only turning her head to look at Zell.  
  
"Umm, oh forget it." Zell backed away; having taken a lesson from Squall he was slowly gaining the ability to suppress his rage and hyperactive-ness. Squalls eyes avoided contact with Zell and he began to look up at the stars. Rinoa gave a tiny inward giggle as Zell retreated to the ballroom.  
  
She returned her gaze to Squall in an attempt to regain that moment but Squalls face had become riddled in a stern hardened way. He was deep in thought, staring with blank, water logged eyes over the ocean. Again she decided to break his thought:  
  
"Hey Squall", his gaze shifted but his posture remained the same.  
  
"Where are we going?" after a moments pause he turned his body away from her and walked inside, his face still blank and posture still rigid. Rinoa frowned in an almost spiteful way. She followed his shadow into the ballroom with her eyes waiting for him to turn back and say something but he did no such thing. Confused as to what had just happened she chased after him in a brisk walk. Weaving in and out of the crowds of people in the ballroom Squall increased his pace and doubled his steps till he was practically jogging. Unable to keep up having to battle through the crowds, Rinoa gave up her chase and stood alone with a rush of people that became blurry figures around her.  
  
Squall continued to rush along leaving the ballroom behind him. He headed down the corridors of Balamb Garden till he arrived at the main elevator. He pressed the button to call the elevator and waited anxiously.  
  
"Squall" The voice he heard was more forceful than that of Rinoa's but it was familiar to him, after a seconds thought he said:  
  
"Yes Matron?" "You know things haven't finished for you. Not every hero gets just one adventure and no more, your case is different there is still..."  
  
"I know, I know, the dreams I've been having, Quistis leaving, the guardian forces and the moon, I know it isn't over for me yet, but I want it to be." Squall widened his stance ready to turn and face Matron.  
  
Matron dipped her eyes which was an odd expression for the woman who was once renowned for being a cold hearted murdering sorceress.  
  
"Where are you going?" She asked.  
  
Turning to face her Matron frowned at the expression Squall carried. He seemed different somehow. "We're going to stop the Garden, we're stopping right here and we're turning around, we're going to go bring Quistis back."  
  
"But why?"  
  
"Why did she leave? Matron, tell me why she left" Squalls tone become raised with a slight madness as if he felt like he had lost Quistis forever.  
  
"She went because she wants to find out about the moon and why it's still glowing red, she's gone to Esthar, Cid asked her too, Squall you haven't lost her if that's what you're thinking, calm down. She's just doing her job"  
  
Squall shook his head slightly as he turned his back to Matron. He stormed into the elevator that had been waiting since the beginning of the conversation, pressed the button to ascend to the third floor and turned around again only to see Matron looking almost as confused as Rinoa was only moments ago.  
  
The elevator whirred and pinged as it reached the top. Stepping from the elevator he expected to see Cid standing there next to Xu controlling Garden, but neither of them were there. Realising that they were both in the ballroom enjoying the celebrations Squall leapt forward to the controls. Grasping the controls to Garden in both hands Squall pulled the giant shaft that operated as a steering device for Garden. The sharpness of the pull dipped the left side of Garden till its base was partially submerged in the sea below. Hearing the elevator descend behind him he snapped back to his senses and gently eased his grip from the controls. With Garden now heading directly for Esthar, Squall withdrew from the controls and turned around to head back down to the ballroom. Again he pressed the button and waited anxiously. The hardness in his face had almost disappeared and completely faded as the lift ascended with both Rinoa and Xu inside.  
  
"Squall!! Are you crazy? What do you think you're doing? Have you gone completely mad?" Squall raised his eyebrows in surprise, this wasn't the kind of reaction he had come to expect from Xu. Staring intently at Xu's fuming expression Squall completely forgot that Rinoa was standing at her side with arms on hips and bent forward as if examining his face.  
  
"Ahem" Rinoa gave a fake cough to draw Squall's attention.  
  
"Squall what's wrong? Talk to me" Rinoa lowered her tone to an open plea, Xu headed for the controls to make sure everything was okay.  
  
"Xu, don't change our course, we're heading to Esthar to pick up Quistis" Squall shouted back to Xu answering one of the many questions that Rinoa was bound to ask.  
  
Turning back to Rinoa Squall said, "Sorry, but..." He paused as if trying to find the right place to start his story, his eyes began to shift from left to right searching for a beginning. "When time compression started to undo itself I had a dream or lots of dreams, about lots of things, and, there was one about you... We were in space, and..."  
  
"SQUALL COME QUICK!" There was a nervous hesitant fear in Xu's voice as she called to Squall. Squall turned to see what the fuss was all about, he squinted slightly and turned back to face Rinoa as if to say, 'We'll talk later' but no words came out and Squall turned again and ran to the controls.  
  
"What is...?" Squall stopped his sentence midway as he looked upon a spectacle in the distance. A volcanic explosion was unfolding on the right hand side of the sky and on the left an icy cavern stood in the middle of the ocean. Emerging from the ash, smoke and smog that had collected on the right was Ifrit, but somehow he looked different, his flames were no longer burning their usual red instead they projected a deep black that seemed to suck everything in. Shiva stood in opposition to him hovering inside a bed of icicles. She too projected an unnatural black.  
  
"What's going on?" Cid bellowed out from the elevator accompanied by Irvine, Zell, Selphie and Matron. They each rushed forward with the exception of Matron who lingered towards the back.  
  
"We don't know. It's Ifrit and Shiva. Look".  
  
At that moment the clouds turned a blood red colour and black lightning shot down from them and slowly formed the bird-like appearance of a black Quezacotl. The cloud sank to the surface of the ocean and from that emerged Diablos entombed in one of his own demi attacks, soon after the cloud cleared, a black pillar rose from the water and Carbuncle fell through it however its ruby was no longer shining. The other GF's followed suit with both Leviathan and Siren exploding out from black rocks in the ocean. Alexander, the Brothers and Cerberus appeared from a black platform that hovered in the air. Bahamut fell from a black portal that opened in the sky followed by Doomtrain whose tracks and flames were black against the water. Tonberry, Cactuar, Mog and Boko appeared from a separate black portal that also formed a platform in the middle of the sea. A whirlwind grew in the sky from which came Pandemona and Gilgamesh. Finally from the heavens came Eden cloaked in black drapes. All the Guardian Forces were assembled. 


	2. Chapter 2: A Raging Moon

Chapter 2: A Raging Moon  
  
Both the sea and sky merged into a black void leaving nothing in view except the Guardian Forces and the moon. Chatter ensued and panic that usually followed had already begun in the ballroom. Angelo could be heard howling all the way into the control room. A feeling of dread crept over Squall yet he battled in his mind to keep his composure.  
  
"It's happening..." Matron mumbled under her breath in utter disbelief, then with a much more woe filled tone, "All that you have worked for, all that you have fought for... Squall will you give up now and go on to try and restore the life you once had or will you fight and do what you always do and find out the truth? Without you, there is no hope". The assembled group turned first to Matron and then to Squall who's image was that of a statue on the horizon. Squall stood apart from the others almost as if he too were standing amongst the Guardian Forces.  
  
The moon lowered in the pitch blackness and shone an eerie red much brighter than that of the lunar cry. Its appearance was that of a blood shot eye glazed over with water, it seemed to grow larger in the sky and in a sudden flash it changed to black absorbing the dark void around it along with the Guardian Forces. The moment was soon over and the sea and sky slowly faded back into view and Squall turned his head to the others. "I guess, I have to, we have to, there is no other choice but to fight, Matron..."  
  
"Yes Squall..."  
  
"What has just happened? What will I be fighting?"  
  
"I believe time is still unfolding itself, I believe, that the Guardian Forces have left our world to return to their own, I believe that the answers to your questions will also unfold with time. What you are fighting could very well be yourself."  
  
"The GF's, why have they left? I don't understand".  
  
Rinoa steps forward. "Hmm, Guardian Forces, they're just monsters, aren't they?"  
  
Selphie interrupts with a confused look "Yeah, I guess so, so what?"  
  
"Well the monsters, come from the moon right, and well a lunar cry happens when the monster activity on the moon increases, right? So maybe what we just saw was the original lunar cry but in reverse, maybe time is unfolding but in the wrong order."  
  
"What are you talking about, how can you know that? You're just making things up", Zell frowned with pursed lips trying to see sense in what Rinoa was saying.  
  
Squall speaks again, "Yeah we don't know anything for certain and it isn't gonna do us any good speculating right now, lets see what we can find out for certain, let's continue to Esthar and see if Quistis has discovered anything".  
  
The group began to disband to make sure everything elsewhere in Garden was okay. Only Xu, Rinoa, Matron, Squall and Cid remained in the control room.  
  
"Squall, I'm going to go help the others, we'll talk later okay." Rinoa held a disappointed tone as if she thought that for a moment there Squall had forgotten her or that he had given up. After the elevator came back up she left. Xu was maintaining the controls under the supervision of Cid while Matron drew close to Squall.  
  
"You know Squall, you shouldn't take your girlfriend so lightly, there may be truth in what she was saying, after all, she was a most powerful sorceress herself. Being a sorceress during time compression means that knowledge comes and goes in an instant, sometimes you can hold on to that knowledge, what she thinks is a dream could be truth, what you think is a dream could be the truth." A look of panic and disbelief veiled Squall's face as Matron walked ahead of him to Cid's side. "Get some rest Squall you have a long journey ahead of you." Matron adopted a mothering voice one that was gentle and yet authoritative.  
  
"Yeah you're probably right"  
  
"I'll come get you when we arrive" 


	3. Chapter 3: Find Your Own Way

Chapter 3: Find Your Own Way

Fireworks exploded in the background and fizzled into a misty blue horizon. The floor was shiny and reflected the bloodshot moon and distant stars. The music began to play and Squall was pulled to the middle of the dance floor. Hand in hand he and Rinoa began to dance, the music sounded awful, it changed and melted till all the sounds were mixed into white noise. Squall let go of Rinoa's hand to cover his ears as the noise was becoming unbearable, Rinoa began to speak:

"Squall... Sq...Ual...l ... Sq..." Rinoa's voice merged with the white noise till it was completely absorbed. The fuzzy sound became louder and louder.

Squall opened his eyes wondering what had happened to Rinoa, he looked up slowly as if trying to avoid the noise. Rinoa was stood in the middle of the room frowning, people rushing either side of her in a blur and Squall was slowly drifting away from her.

Squall opened his mouth to speak but no coherant words escaped, just white noise.

Suddenly as though someone had hit the rewind button Squall found himself proped up against the wall looking at the many people who had already filled the dancefloor. He knew what would happen next. Rinoa would come and take his hand, they would dance and then the fireworks would go off.

He waited, and waited. Something was wrong. The song finished and the fireworks went off. The night drew to a close. The fast forward button was pressed. People began to leave. The sky became darker and darker and Rinoa didn't show. The noise disappeared, as did the ballroom. The fireworks remained pressed against the sky in many bright colours that slowly changed to white specles in the distance. Squall felt himself floating, no longer with his feet on the ground. He had been here before. Coming closer towards him was a person wearing a space suit, and then he realised, he realised that this was a dream, one he had had before.

"Squall"

"Squall... We're here".

Squall opened his eyes to meet the bright sun glaring through the small window of his dorm room. It was the same room he had slept in since becoming a SeeD. His sword lay next to his bed, and his clothes hung from the hook above it. Everything seemed normal, so Squall relaxed, thankful that the dream was over. For Squall that dream was becoming unbearble, it was punishment that he had not known before in his life. Someone he loved was being taken away from him every night and every morning he'd wake to find her next to him smiling and he knew that the next night would be the same. Matron stood over Squall, anouncing their arrival at the Sorceress Memorial.

"We've arrived at the Sorceress Memorial. Quistis is on her way here. We couldn't enter Esthar City, there has been a city wide power failure and the lifts aren't working."

"Okay, thank you Matron." Squall's voice was shakey at first but soon returned to it's normal pace.

"Same dream again?" Though Matron knew the answer to this question she still had to ask in the hope that Squall would say more than just 'Yes'. But she knew that wasn't to happen.

Squall nodded and looked to his clothes. Matron took this as a sign to leave and retreated from the room. Upon leaving she said:

"Squall, you can't stop her from going. She knows as you do what is going to happen. One day you will be forced to find your own way again. I'm sorry"


	4. Chapter 4: I Grieve For You

Chapter 4: I Grieve For You

The air was rigid, and the dusty ground lay dormant. The sorceress memorial stood tall piercing the sky above with a halo of clouds above it. Having changed into the usual attire both Squall and Zell ventured away from Garden which was parked some distance from the memorial. The sorceress memorial grew larger as they approached. Quistis stood at its base, leaning on one leg with her hand covering part of her face, she crossed her arms as they came closer. Leaning her head to the side she said:

"Hi, I'm guessing you saw what happened earlier."

Zell burst immediately: "Yeh did you see it, it was amazing, I don't really understand what happened but wow, the Guardian Forces and all. Rinoa seems to think that it was the original lunar cry but in reverse or something, but I don't think she knows what she's talking about…"

Squall closed his eyes and looked down towards the ground. Quistis stopped listening to Zell and noticed Squall's endless contemplation.

"What is it Squall?"

Zell stopped talking realising that no one was listening to him.

Squall opened his eyes but remained focused on the ground, it was cracked and dry, tiny pebbles were scattered at Squalls feet and then the flashbacks began. Image after image flooded into Squalls head, the flickering became unbearable and Squall was reduced to his knees. Both Zell and Quistis called his name and flocked to him.

Quistis called to Zell, "Zell get back to Garden, get someone to help"

Zell looked at Quistis to make sure she'd be okay before running at a tremendous pace back towards Garden. The panic in Zell made his whole body seem to streamline through the air.

Hearing a loud cry from where he had just been standing, caused Zell to grind to a halt. He looked back to see two giant flaming wings glowing from Squalls back. The wings became brighter and brighter till they exploded into a waterfall of feathers.

Realising he was stood at the base of Garden Zell began to call out for help. He could see now that both Quistis and Squall were lying on the floor barely moving, so he ran back towards them.

"_Squall…Squall…where are we?"_

"_We're here, the place where she promised to meet me."_

"_She? You mean Rinoa? But she's not here Squall."_

"_That's because this is a dream."_

"Hey Squall! Quistis! Wake up. C'mon you guys."

"_Zell? Where are you? Squall can you hear him?"_

"_He wants us to wake up Quistis"_

"_Wake up?"_

"_From this dream"_

"_Well how do we do that Squall"_

"_I don't think I can now, but you can"_

"_What? Why can't you?"_

"_Because…If I wait here, she will come."_

"I… _don't understand…_Squall!" With that, Quistis awoke from the dream to greet a worried Zell standing over her. Sitting up she looked towards Squall. Zell knew that he was missing something here and asked:

"What's happening to him?"

"He's dreaming, he's waiting for Rinoa to come find him."

"Rinoa is on her way from Garden"

"No Zell, I think he has to find her in time."

Zell's manner changed, he held his 'I'm confused' stance. At that moment the Ragnarok descended from the sky landing near Garden.

"You know Zell, I think that something happened to Squall during time compression, he's seen things, I don't know how to explain it but, just now we were in a dream together and he was completely calm, he told me to wake up saying that he couldn't come with me. It was as though he was saying good-bye you know?"

"No I don't know, but you shouldn't talk like that, Squall isn't gone forever" Zell picked up Squall at that point and began to carry him back to Garden to get him some help.

'_I don't think it is Squall that is leaving us…_

_Maybe, maybe I'm the one who is leaving'_

Zell turned around to see that Quistis had closed her eyes and was swaying as though she was in a trance. "Quistis?" He called out to her.

"I'm okay, come on let's get back, oh and Zell?"

"Yes Quistis?" Zell was beginning to struggle to carry Squall at this point.

"Did you see those wings that came out of Squall's back?" Quistis' gaze pierced through Zell's eyes, as though she wanted him to instantly understand what she was trying to say.

"Yeh, what was that all about?" Squall's arm slumped out of Zell's hands and Zell had to re-adjust his grip on Squall.

"Did you not recognise them?"

"Nuh-uh, should I have done?" Zell turned around and began to walk back to Garden.

Realising that Zell was getting tired, Quistis said: "I'll explain when we get back to Garden." Turning to Squall, Quistis muttered "I grieve for you."


	5. Chapter 5: The First Guardian Force

Chapter 5: The First Guardian Force.

"Hi everyone, I have a few things I need to say, so I guess I'll say them now. First of all, while I was in Esthar City I learned of the project 'Sorceress End'. 'Sorceress End' is a project started by the Shumi tribe many years ago. Within the project there are many documents depicting the very first sorceress and also the very first guardian force. The idea of the project was for the Shumi tribe to learn as much as was possible about the sorceress in an attempt to gain control of her power and hence control the first guardian force. However almost every attempt they made was completely trampled upon. However now that Ultimecia has been defeated, the Shumi tribe as well as many scientists in Esthar are trying to trace the power of the sorceress and gather it all together. This means that they've had to use a miniature form of time compression to find all the power. They performed a simulation of time compression in space last night however they couldn't contain it and it caused a rift in time. This is a possible explanation for the guardian forces appearing that night. During their time compression simulation they sent a team of nine people through time, four of which returned safely two of which were injured the rest were dead. It seems that the four that returned safely had each reached different points in time all around the time that we fought Ultemicia. They stayed hidden so as not to complicate things, and at different points during the fight they extracted her powers. We do not know what happened to those that died, however the two that were injured were thrown a long way back in time and came face to face with the first guardian force himself, in his true form. The two came face to face with a black winged Griever. They managed to extract some of his powers before they were hurtled back into this time, and they claim that they were nearly killed by the black Griever. Now about Squall, we were outside and two fiery wings emanated from his back, they were griever wings. I don't know why, but, that's what I saw. Then all of a sudden I was in a dream with Squall and he told me he was waiting for Rinoa and that he couldn't wake up but I could. I don't really understand what is happening, anyone have any suggestions? Oh and where is Rinoa?"

Quistis sat down and Matron stood.

"Rinoa is by Squall's side. I have some sad news to bear upon you all. It seems to me as though Ultemicia was aware of the people having slipped through time last night. Knowing this she allowed herself to be taken, not only that but I believe she melded Griever with Squall. This means that Squall is now trapped, split between many different times. Remember last night when we saw the guardian forces, the only one that wasn't there was Griever. That's because he is inside Squall and is still trying to return to the moon. We need to know more about project 'Sorceress End', if we can in fact find a way to control the sorceress and the first guardian force then maybe we can find a way to keep Squall here."

Matron turned to face the window in the control room. Irvine stood up.

"Well, what do we do with Squall till then?"

As Irvine was speaking Rinoa entered the room and sat down.

"We send him into space, to the space station, if he's going to get help from anywhere it'll be there. They can perform small time compressions, maybe they can unshuffle things?" Rinoa's face held a lost look, she felt uneasy without Squall in the room telling everyone what to do."

Matron turned her head to the side and said:

"One more thing, if in fact Griever is now a part of Squall, and time cannot decompress correctly then our world could completely change around us without us knowing. In fact things may have already changed."

Selphie bounded to the centre of the room and said, "Oh oh oh, I know, we could go find Ellone, she can control time can't she? Well maybe she isn't affected by the changes?"

Everyone turned to look at Selphie at this point. Even Rinoa seemed to be uplifted slightly.

"I guess we have our plan then…" said Rinoa.

"Umm, wait." Zell interrupted "Why is the Ragnarok here? And umm, doesn't this mean that Squall is dangerous? And also why would Ultimecia let herself be taken? And why would she put Griever in Squall?"

Matron replied: "Well isn't it obvious Zell, if they manage to gather all of her power together then she can return to this world, also if Griever is inside Squall time cannot undo itself spiralling the world into chaos. And then, Ultimecia wins. And yes it means that Squall is dangerous. As for the Ragnarok, I haven't a clue."

Cid who was sat silently throughout the conversation rose to his feet and with a little sigh announced:

"I called for it. I've requested that Ellone go to the space station and attempt to sort things out. I guess she can take Squall and one of you should go too."

Cid instantly turned to Rinoa. She nodded. She wished to stay by Squall's side no matter what. He had been there for her when she had no where to go and now it was her turn to do the same for him. She turned to the rest of the group and said:

"I'll let Ellone know what is happening, you all take care and if Ellone isn't affected by the time changes then I'll tell her to make sure we stick to our plan okay."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"We've all fought a long battle to get here and we shouldn't give up now, not when our leader, the one that has stood by us all this time is at his weakest. We will protect our protector, our first guardian force, Squall."


	6. Chapter 6: Must We Battle Again?

Chapter 6: Must we Battle Again?

Rinoa, Squall and Ellone headed off into space and it was entrusted upon the rest of the group to find out more regarding project 'Sorceress End' in the hope of being able to restore Squall and put an end to time compression. Quistis followed by Irvine headed into Esthar explaining that the power failure was caused by the Guardian Forces however the problem was now resolved. Zell and Selphie remained inside Garden with Matron, Cid and Xu, they were to head to the Shumi Village to conduct their research there.

Since the defeat of Ultimecia the Shumi Village expanded at an enormous rate, almost half of the northern continent is covered by the Shumi Village. Zell and Selphie were to make their way to the Village centre where they were to meet with the leader of the Shumi tribe. Upon arrival things seemed normal, the sky was clouded over and a large castle hovered in the air being held down by large chains. Zell and Selphie headed up the chains to the castle, on the way they came across portals that lead back to the real world. After reaching the castle doors they waited for the others to arrive. They stood on the steps as the fog crept around them. Their hearts began to beat faster, as they each contemplated the next step. This was the final battle, they would fight Ultimecia and time compression would stop. A few moments later they were joined by Squall, Rinoa, Quistis and Irvine. They decided to split into two teams and head into the castle. After several harsh encounters their abilities were all unsealed and they were faced with the door that would lead them to Ultimecia and the end of their struggles. Zell and Selphie decided to go in first. Upon emerging from the doors they stood in the grand chamber which was built after Ultimecia's demise located in the centre of the Shumi village. The room was a memory, something that was not to be forgotten; it showed the struggle that the people had to go through to survive. Inside the grand chamber the newest leader of the Shumi tribe was sat along with the council members that governed their rapidly growing village.

Meanwhile, in space, Ellone had arrived with Squall and Rinoa.

"Oh no…" Ellone looked through the window of the ragnarok back down to the planet. Rinoa looked towards her to prompt Ellone to say what was wrong.

"Another change in time just occurred, Zell and Selphie, they both nearly took part in the battle between you all and Ultimecia again. Time is out of control, they must hurry if they are to have any chance of succeeding, time is not their friend right now."

Rinoa raised her hand to her mouth looking shocked and said "Ellone, if they were to change things that happened then would it affect the present?"

"I don't know Rinoa, I think it is a matter of waiting for time to catch up with us. I mean, if they were to change something then everything else could change instantly or it could take a while, it could take minutes, hours, days or weeks before the changes caught up with us."

"If any of us were to engage in the final battle again and lose, we could all be dead in a matter of moments"

"Yes, but you are stronger now then you were then…"

Rinoa interrupted "Yes but Ellone we are also all so tired…"

"… but none the less you still have each other and…"

"…but don't you see we wanted things to be over now, we wanted to move on, we don't want this anymore…"

"… I have faith in you, I have faith in you all."

"Must we battle again? Must we fight every moment that we see a sign of peace? It is never over for us. Never over for any of us."

"Rinoa… I'm sorry. We can only pray that we'll make it, that Zell and Selphie will find out why the Shumi tribe started the 'Sorceress End' project and just hope that Quistis and Irvine find a way to fulfil the project and hopefully that Squall will wake up. Must we battle again? Yes."

Hi all, sorry this chapter is a little short, the reason it's short is because my friend was complaining that she didn't understand what was happening here, so here is a quick summary: 1) the guardian forces assembled because, a) time was still unfolding and b) because of the miniature time compression incident. 2) Both Squall and Rinoa were having dreams but Matron believes that these are glimpses of things to come. 3) Quistis went to Esthar to find out why the moon was still glowing red even after Ultimecia was defeated, this is when the miniature time compression incident occurred. 4) We see one of the dreams that Squall has been having on their way to see Quistis but Squall has been acting weird feeling that he has lost Quistis forever (this fanfic stays true to FF8 in that the love relationship was between Rinoa and Squall). 5) Upon meeting with Quistis Squall falls into a dream with Quistis in which he tells her he can't awake until Rinoa finds him. 6) The group learns of project 'Sorceress End'. 7) Squall is taken into space with Rinoa and Ellone. 8) Zell and Selphie head to the Shumi Village but on the way time gets confused. 9) Quistis and Irvine are on their way to Esthar.

There that's the summary, I think I got everything major.

Hope you're all enjoying it. R & R plz!


	7. Chapter x: The Ragnarok Docks

Chapter 7: The Ragnarok Docks.

"… I'm tired."

"Yeah I know what you mean."

"So how long have we been up here now?"

"Umm, only about two days."

"Two days! Is that it? I feel like I've been here for years!"

"Oh, here we go."

"Huh? Oh they're here."

"Why are they coming here again?"

"Something to do with the time compression thingy, oh and they've got someone that's

ill or something with them."

"Ill? It's not contagious is it?"

"Nah, the guy's asleep, they can't wake him up."

"Initialise the docking bay."

"Will do… Docking bay secured."

"Can you believe that they reconstructed this entire place after it was destroyed?"

"Hey it's no surprise to me, once you've seen a war here and there, and a space station blow up, and a huge space ship coming to land, you kinda figure that life is like that I guess."

"Like what?"

"I dunno, I lost the plot of what I was saying."

"Oh."

"Okay, they've docked successfully, turn on the intercom."

"Intercom is on."

"_Good morning Ragnarok, please bear with us a moment while we secure your ship._"

"You know they say that ship helped save the world, they say it was the same one that broke through to the Lunatic Pandora."

"Really! Wow, this is so surreal. It looks evil, doesn't it."

"You mean the ship? Yeah it does. Ragnarok is said to be a Guardian Force that was destroyed long ago, they say that once summoned would force its way through any armour and come out undamaged."

This chapter is here to fill you in on what happens when Squall, Rinoa and Ellone arrive at the space station. I was considering leaving this part of the story out but I was asked the following question in a review: "Wasn't the outerspace base destroyed by the lunar cry and thats why everyone had to evacuate?"

And this seemed the perfect place to explain this point. The next true chapter won't be written for a week or two, (it's gonna be a long one), but I may insert smaller mini chapters over the next few weeks to fill in some more gaps but they won't depict anything significant. Hope you all enjoy.


	8. Chapter 7: An old man from far

Chapter 7: An old man from a far away place

"Quistis?"

Her eyes were filled with tears, her lips parted in sorrow, her breath was heavy and drawn out. She shrugged, closed her eyes as she turned her head to face Irvine, opening her eyes she pressed her lips firmly and took another long breath. She let out a sigh told Irvine not to worry and continued forward into Esthar.

"So Quistis, explain to me what we're actually doing" said Irvine.

"Well, Esthar has the best technology in the world right, and they're the ones that built the space station and were manually able to create time compressions so, if they can do that, I'm sure they can also find a way of turning the power that was collected from Ultemicia in to a form that allows us to control her, if this is possible, then time can be unfolded correctly. Squall will no longer be joined with the first guardian force and will hopefully wake up."

A chuckle interrupted Quistis' flow. An old man was sat on the main road into Esthar. Quistis stared at him for a long while taking in his sharp white beard, his bald head and long gown and strange staff.

"Where did you come from? And what gave you the right to listen in on our conversation?"

The old man chuckled again and replied:

"Are you not going to ask who I am first?"

"To be honest I don't really care" Quistis replied with an unusual scorn.

Chuckling further the old man said:

"What if I told you that I know what you need to know, and what you need to know is how to complete 'Sorceress End', right?"

"How do you know about that, I didn't mention 'Sorceress End' at all?"

"Well when you get my age you get to know a lot. Say you wouldn't happen to be travelling to the presidents building would you?"

"Well yes we are, why?"

"Oh you wouldn't mind helping me along, my destination is on the way and I'm pretty tired after my long travel."

"Um… sure…I guess" Irvine was somewhat baffled and his response was broken with confusion.

After walking through the busy streets of an 'on-the-grow' Esthar, the old man finally decided that he had reached his destination. Quistis, Irvine and the old man were stood at the second highest peak in Esthar (second highest next to the tower at the centre of the city).

"Um…old man…there's no houses, or buildings, or anything here, it's just a road, are you sure this is where you need to be?"

"Yes. So, are you going to ask me who I am?"

"Okay" said Quistis, "Who are you?"

"My name is Ramuh…"

"Ramuh? I've heard that name before…hey aren't you…" Irvine was cut off.

"Yes, I'm an old guardian force."

"So why are you here then? I thought all the guardian forces disappeared back to the moon." Quistis' words were filled with disbelief.

"Yes they did but I'm no longer a guardian force."

"Why not?" replied Irvine with much interest.

"Well that's just the way things go I guess."

"What do you mean, how can you just all of a sudden not be a guardian force? I don't get it." Irvine deeply stared at the old man waiting for him to form the right words.

"You see, time, regardless of how it unfolds, is, well, never wrong, how can it be? Time, regardless of compressions and decompressions, unfolds as it will. If this is the way things are supposed to be then this is the way it shall be. If Squall is to die then so he shall, if time is willing to show us what is to come then we shall see it. Time controls us, not the other way round. If you want real answers then you must become harmonious with time. Not try and control it.

"Well how do we do that then?" Quistis' moments of disbelief were suddenly filled with much enchantment.

"We can already control time. We have time magic, this is harmony. Have you cast any time magic since the decompressions began?"

Quistis turned to Irvine and he turned towards her. They looked at each other for a moment, confused and in deep contemplation. Both were trying to resolve the hidden meaning in what the old man was saying. Both Quistis and Irvine widened their eyes and raised their eyebrows as the came to a mutual unspoken resolution.

They each held out their hands, and Quistis began to count down out loud.

"3"

"2"

"1"

"Now Irvine!"

They both cast stop magic in the air in front of them, the magic collided and created a bubble around them. As they looked out, nothing was moving, even the old man had stopped.

"So this means…"

Quistis cut him off "Yes, we aren't affected by any changes in time, just as long as we can keep this spell active."

"Irvine lets take down the spell for a moment, I want to ask Ramuh a few more questions"

"Sure"

The both cast spell in the air and the bubble disappeared.

Ramuh spoke as the bubble lifted.

"I see you've worked it out then."

"Yes, we can shut ourselves away from the time compressions using the stop spell around us, because it is harmonious with time, we can also slow down or speed up compressions too."

"Exactly"

"But you said you knew how to complete project sorceress end. Care to explain?"

The old man chuckled again and spoke.

"Well if you use your heads a little here you should realise that all time compression is, is highly concentrated time magic that can only be produced by a sorceress, namely Ultemecia. So what did your friends do? Well they went and took some of her magic in an attempt to undo what she did using the same magic that she did. But it would take another sorceress to be able to control that magic. So how do you complete Sorceress End? Simple, you use all of her time magic to seal in all of her other magic so that it can no longer affect the world."

"I see. But we killed the sorceress."

"But not completely, her magic was brought here was it not? Your people manufactured time compressions and stole her magic. Griever was placed inside Squall tying both Griever and Ultemecia to this world. Time showed itself to Ultemecia and she used it to change her fate. The question is, can you change yours?" Ramuh chuckled again.

"Well it was fun having met the two of you, but I'm just an old man from a far away place and it is time for me to go home. One more thing though. Maybe you should find out how your people performed a time compression."

The old man chuckled and began to walk off down the road leaving Quistis and Irvine to ponder the old man's words.


	9. Chapter 8: Are you still with me?

Chapter 8: Are you still with me?

Squall drew his blade and a ringing echoed against the invisible walls of the field. The flowers in the shadow of his blade wilted and turned away as though scared of the battle that was unfolding.

"Such a tortured soul. It is a wonder that you have survived thus far…" The tone in Griever's voice was decidedly malicious and riddled with ill intent; "I have seen your deepest fears and I have seen the truth still to come, I know I shall not survive this battle – of this I am sure, yet I do know – as you do, that she will not live. She. Will. DIE!"

Growling as he lunged forward; Squall swung his gunblade high above his head cutting the sky and the sun in two, he held down the trigger and the two segments of sky burst into shards of razor sharp blue embers that held their position for a moment before descending rapidly towards Griever. The dark night sky that had replaced the sun was filled with rampaging thunder storms and the flowers had disappeared to leave a dusty and dry desert. With each crack of thunder Griever was cut and burnt by the blue embers till his body was devoid of life. Turning to misty shadows the silhouette of Griever faded away.

Knowing that the battle was far from over Squall readied his gunblade and maintained his stance searching the darkness for where the next taunt from Griever would emanate.

"Why do you persist? Have you not realised yet that no matter what you do, you will never be able to change what is to come…" The voice came from behind Squall this time, it was corrupted and broken, intermittently littered with cracking radio noise; Squall felt as though he was winning the battle, then, with solidarity and clarity, Grievers voice echoed through the darkness "YOU are WEAK! HELPLESS! You are still but a child waiting for someone to rescue you! Pathetic!"

Griever's claw came swooping down across Squalls back knocking him forward to the ground. As he fell, the gunblade fumbled through his grip and slid across the dry cracked ground and kicked up dust in its wake. Sensing a second blow coming, Squall leapt forward from his hands and knees towards his gunblade but was pulled short of its reach by a vicious magical strike from Griever that left Squall writhing in agony. With his arm outstretched towards the blade, and his cheek to the ground, not giving up hope, Squall let out a scream and rolled away from the gunblade, kicked off from the ground and ran towards Griever unarmed. Griever spread his wings which shimmered a rich and deadly purple against the grey and black sky. The darkness of Grievers wings shot beams of light as bright as a bolt of Quezacotl's lightning along the ground towards Squall who jumped, darted and weaved in and out of the beams with an eerie effortlessness. Squall raised his hand behind him as he neared Griever and using a demi spell pulled his gunblade to his hand. Twisting through the air and lifting the blade at the last possible second Squall cut through the body of Griever before crashing into the ground, breathless and exhausted.

Once again the shadow departed, though this time the flowers returned and dark grey clouds parted to reveal a familiar sun. Though the fight was over for now, Squall could feel Griever's presence lingering. With the parting of the last dark cloud, Squall thought he had heard Rinoa's voice asking him "Are you still with me?"

As he closed his eyes to take rest, Squall said aloud "I will always be with you".

Grievers voice shortly followed whispering threateningly

"…and I will always, be with you, Squall".


End file.
